Automatic trap nest



July

V.- C. BOX ET AL AUTOMATIC TRAP NEST in@ f July 27,1926. i A1,594,293

V. C. BOX ET AL AUTOMATIC TRAP NEST Filed June 5. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 unire VIRGIL C. BOX A ND CLARENCE BOX, F BLUE RIDGE, TEXA AUTOMATC Application filed June 3,

Plhis invention relates to trap nests tor Apoultry,

and inore particularly to nests of this kind having a single opening through which the hen enters The invention has and leaves the nest- 'lor one ot its objects 'the provision oix a door for the entrance and exit opening of the adapte-d tobe swung nest which shall be inwardly by a hen when entering the nest and outwardly by the lien when leaving the nest and w hi cli 'shall be equipped with a record sheet upon which y an identifying hen when leaving the inarlr is inade by the nest.

is the in arlr upon the record sheet.

A further object provision ol a novel actuated by the inwar ing inov'enients of 4 the of ythe invention is the latch adapted to be d and outward swingdoor so as to secure the door against inward but not outward 'swinging movement after a hen has once entered the nest.

lVith the above and other objects in view,

the invention consists in the construction, coinbination and arrangement of parts hereinatter fully described and clainied, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

wherein Figure 1 is a view in iront elevation of a trap nest Idoor constructed yin accordance with iny invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the horizontal plane indicated by the line 2-2 ot Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional view talren on the vertical plane indicated by Figure 1, Figure l is a sectional view taken on the vertical plane indicated by the line 4l-l oi Figure 1, illustrating the latch in position to perinitthe door to be inoved inwardly,

Figure 5 is a detail of the marker,

Figure 6 is a similar view in side elevation view oi a slightly inodiiied 'torni of the marker,

Figure 7 is a manner in which inarlrer, and Figure 8 is a illustrating the latch detail view illustrating the the crayon is secured to the view siinilar to Figure 4:

in position to secure l the door against inward movement.

Referring to numerals 1' designate tion. of the body or the drawings by reference s a fragmentary por- Qasng of a ,trap nest lthe nest, coinprises a ythe door to its closed position.

TRAP NEST.

1924. Serial No. 717,591.

which inay be of any well known construction.

In accordance with our invention a traine 2 is secured to the open front end of the body 1 or' the trap nest. On entering and leaving the trap nest, the hens pass through the traine 2. A. door 3 is swung at one end within the traine 2 on pintles 4. fi spring 5 which is mounted upon one of the pintles Il and which has one of its ends secured to the traine 2 as at 6 and its other end to the door 3 as at 7, serves to norinally retain the door in closed position. lThe traine 2 is the pintles er. The door is preferably niado ot' sheet inetal, its area is less than that or the opening or' the traine 2, and it is, shown, preferably niounted to swing about a vertical axis. The door 3 is adapted to be swung inwardly by a hen entering the nest and outwardly by a hen leaving the nest and when the hen has :noved out ot contact with it the door is returned to closed position by the spring 5.

The ineans for securing the door 3 against inward inoveinent after a hen has entered latch 9 which is pivotally suspended above the door 3 by a U- shaped bolt 10 carried by the traine 2, and an arcuate bar 11 which is securedto and projects inwardly troni the upper edge of the door and which is recessed as shown at 12 to provide shoulders 13 and 13R. Vilben in position to secure the doorl against inward inovenient, the latch 9 occupies a downto perniit the inward inovenient ot the door,

it occupies a downwardly and inwardly 'inclined position with its lower end in contact with the shoulder 13a, as shown in Figure 4l. FVhen it is desired to perinit the use ot the nest, the latch 9 is manually set in the position shown in Figure e, in which position it holds the door in a partly inwardly opened position so as to induce a hen to enter the nest. During the entrance -o't a lien into the nest, the bar 11 passes out ot contact with the latch 9, leaving the latch hanging vertically. Alter the lien has passed out of contact with the door 3, the spring 'returns uring this rnovenicnt ol the. door, the outer end of the bar 11 contacts with the latch 9 and swings it in an upward and outward direction, and

the latch 9 rests against the upper side of the bar 11 until it 'drops into the recess 12. lll/Then the door comes to rest, the latch 9 occupies a downwardly and forwardly inclined position with its tree end in contact with the shoulder 13. lt will thus be seen that after a hen enters the nest, the door 3 cannot be moved inwardly but that it may be moved outwardly, with the result that the hen within the nest cannot be disturbed, that it may leave at any time, and that the nest cannot be again occupied until the latch is manually moved into its downwardly and inwardly inclined position. The curvature of the bar 11 corresponds to an arc of a circle having,Y the pivot of the door for its center. rEhe bar 11 is provided with a vertical arm 11 which is adapted to limit the outward movement of the door 3.

To secure a record oit' the laying` capacity o the hens using` the nest, a record sheet 15 is provided. This r cord sheet is wound upon a roller 16 and is adapted to be manually unwound therefrom onto a roller 17. Those rollers are journaled in tianges 18 which extend inwardly from and are arranged in perpendicular relation with respect to the door 3. To prevent any acci dental movement of the rollers 16 and 17 springs 19 arefemployed. The springs 19 are mounted upon the upper journals 2O of the rollers 16 and 17 between the upper ends oiI the rollers and the upper flange 1S, the journal 2O ot' the roller 17 beingv provided with a milled wheel 21 through the medium oit which this roller may be turned to wind the record sheet thereon. A marker which comprises a clasp 22 in the 'torni of a loop is secured to a wingot each hen by a bolt 3. A spring` 24 is secured to the loop 22 by means ot the bolt 23, and it is provided at its outer end with a stem 25 to which a ball of crayon 26 is secured. The outer end of the stem is bent to provide two or more convolutions 27 about which a thread 28 is wound in the n'ianner illustratedin Figure 7. rllhe convolutions 27 and the thread 2S' provide an enlarged head ot skeleton forma.- tion about which the ball of crayon 26 may be readily moulded. Due to its construction, the head will prevent the accidental displacement. of the crayon ball 26. The marker is secured to wing;` of a hen with the spring 24C extending' laterally from the hen, whereby to cause the crayon ball 26 to contact with that part or' the record sheet 15 carried by the roller 16 during the passage ot the hen from the nest. Due to the tact that the crayon ball 26 is connected to the loop l22 by the spring 24, it will yield while it I:is in co tact with th record sheet 15 and p event ijury t the .record sheet andfto ,Y e crayon orde'rto prevent the'hen rela ruses ts' f s While ,leerlas the enough .to l erventfthe crayon ball 25 contacting,` with the record sheet 15, a ring` 29 is adapted to be passed about a leg, and the ring' is connected to the loop 22 by a flexible element 30. rl`wo or more crayons 26 may be secured to each clasp, and when two or more are used on the same clasp the crayons are oit the same or ditlerent colors. ln Figure 6 two crayons are shown secured to the clasp, one by the bolt 23 and the other by having the inner end 2st of its tri-ying spring 211- looped, as shown at 24", about one bar oi the clasp and thence extended to and connected to the bolt 23. in practice, certain ot the hens ot a laying house will each be provided with a clasp bearing a single crayon, and such crayons will be ot different colors. The other hens olI the laying house will each be provided with a clasp bearing a plurality ot crayons, and some ot these clasps will bear crayons ot the same color and the others will bear crayons ot different colors. Any clasp havinpj a number ot' crayons of the same color will be different in color from the crayons ot another class bearing,r a similar number of crayons.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that we have provided a door which may be readily secured to the front ot a nest having a single entrance and enit opening and which will enable the poultryman to determine ust which hen has laid the egg that is deposited in any nest. It should further be apparent that simple and efficient means are provided for obtaining a record of the laying` capacity ot' the indivi dual hens ot a laying house, that the roller 16 is in such position on the door that it will expose a portion of the record sheet for contact by the crayons as the hens leave the nest, and that when the exposed portion ot the record sheet has been used up a fresh portion thereof may be exposed for contact by the crayons by simply winding a portion ot the record sheet onto the roller 17.

1t should be understood that the drawings r 1e merely illustrative and do not pretend to `rive exact proportions. Furthermore, the said drawings are illustrative of a preferred construction, it being:r our expectation that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ot our invention.

1. A trap nest comprising` an inwardly and outwardly swinging door, means normally retaining the `door in closed position, a bar secured to the door and provided with a shoulder, a movably mounted latch cooperating with YSaid Shoulder to Secure the .door against inward movement latter a hen has entered the nest. i

2. rfi trap nest including ,an inwardly and outwardly sw' ig-ing door', i

retaining' the door in Closed position, a bar carried by the door and provided with relatively spaced shoulders, and a movably mounted latch adapted to be engaged with one of said shoulders to hold the door in a part-ly inwardly opened position and adapted to automatically engage the other shoulder after a hen has entered the nest to seeure the door against inward movement.

B. A marker oit the character set forth comprising a clasp, an elastic element carried by the clasp, a crayon carried by the elastic element, a ring, and a flexible element connecting the ring and clasp.

Il. A marker of: the character set ,torth comprising' a clasp, a crayon Carried by said elasp means by which said clasp may be secured to the wing of the hen, and means by which said clasp may be connected to the leg' of the hen.

5. A marker of the character set forth comprising a loop, means adapted to seonre the loop to a hen, a laterally lexible member secured at one end to the loop by said means,

and a Crayon carried by the other end of said member.

6. A marker of the character set forth comprising a loop, means adapted to secure the loop to a hen, a laterally flexible member secured at one end to said means, a crayon carried by the other end oi' said membei', a second laterally dexible member secured to said loop and to the first named flexible member, and a crayon carried by said second flexible member.

7. A trap nest including an inwardly and outwardly swinging metal door provided with inwardly directed llanges formed integrally therewith7 rollers positioned between and journaled in said ianges, a reeord sheet carried by the rollers, and springs contacting with the rollers and one ot said flanges to hold the former against casual movement. y

In testimony whereof we aiix our signatures.

VIRGL C. BOX. CLARENCE BOX. 

